Swains Give Kids Their Own Paths

 

This is a legacy that could inspire – or suffocate.

 

And what about the parents? How do they manage these kids?

 

They back off, said their dad, who happens to be Mike Swain, one of our country’s greatest judo stars and a member of USA Judo’s Board of Directors. And that strategy seems to be working.

 

Fifteen-year-old Sophia Swain won a silver medal at the USA Judo Youth and Scholastic National Championships in Spokane, Wash. earlier this month. And her 13-year-old brother Masa Swain took gold at the tournament, executing a pretty advanced choke for a boy who just reached the approved age for submission moves in competition.

 

Those wins came at a tournament that saw a huge increase in participation this year, jumping to nearly 400 entries from about 300 last year, making it a premiere opportunity for school-age competitors in this country, said Lance Nading, president of USA Judo.

 

“It’s definitely going to get to be an even bigger event,” he said.

 

And what we saw from Masa and Sophia were performances suggesting that they could follow in their folks’ footsteps – if they want to.

 

“Basically, he’s a point guard in basketball and he does judo as a second sport,” Mike Swain said of his son.

 

Swain said he and his wife, Tania, have wanted to keep their kids out of the limelight. The kids have been taking judo at San Jose Buddhist Judo, where their mom has taught for years. The idea has been to “just let them do their own thing. That’s a big part of high school, giving kids a chance to try a lot of different sports,” he said.

 

Daughter Sophia runs track, and has been active in competitive volleyball. “She’s starting to be a little more focused on judo,” Swain said.

 

And if they do get more interested in judo, their dad said, then the Swains can show them the way.

 

“Then I can give them a good plan of attack,” he said.

 

The family has a lot of experience to share. Mike Swain, in 1987, was the first American man to take a gold in the World Championships. A four-time Olympian, he took a bronze in Seoul in 1988 and still found time to start the mat company that bears his name. Tania Swain is an Olympian and Pan American champion. Grandfather, Tania’s father, Chiaki Ishii, took a bronze in the Olympics in 1972.

 

It is a notable rarity, of course, to win a medal in the Olympics. Then to stay involved in the sport and contribute, like Mike Swain has done, makes this dad a particularly rare, and valuable, success for judo, said Nading.

 

That sort of success would also make it particularly tempting for some parents to push their kids, but that could come too soon and be too much, pushing their kids out of the sport.

 

Instead, suggested Mike Swain, probably when they are around 14 or 15 years of age, “if they are really serious, you can start pushing them a bit to get them to the next level.”

 

In the meantime, let them find some of their own way, and maybe they’ll end up in judo.

 

Tags: Lance Nading, Masa Swain, Mike Swain, Sophia Swain